Process of making mottled floor covering



Sept. 10, 1929. N. 1 CAMPBELL PROCESS OF MAKING MOTTLED FLOOR COVERING Filed April 16. 1928 2 sheets-sheet v w tht. yi

Sept. 10, 1929. N. x.. CAMPBELL PROCESS OF MAKING MOTTLED FLOOR COVERING Filed April 16, 1928A 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented sept. 1o,`1929.

AUNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

NEIL L. CAMPBELL, OF SALEM, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR T MANNINGTON MILLS, INC., OF.SALEM, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

PROCESS OF MAKING MOTTLED FLOOR COVERING.

Application filed April 16, 1928. Serial No- 270,346.

This invention relates to a floor covering having a'mottled form of design on its face; to asingular method of producing the design; and to an apparatus by .which the design may be produced.

lIhe specific type of floor covering employed is that having a felt or similar composite base, on one tace of which the d eslgn is formed by applying paints of suitable 1o ingredients and colors thereto, and thereafter working the paints in such a manner that the various shades and colors are interspersed over the surface to form the desired mottled design.

i5 In the production of the design I prefer to use high 'grade enamel paints, thereby producing` a high gloss finish Without the use of lacquers or varnish of any kind as a iinishing agent.

eo While the method of producing this form of design may be carried out on various forms of coating and printing machines I have chosen, for the purpose ot' illustration, the commonly used and well-known block i5 printing machine as diagrammatieally illustrated in the accompanying drawings, of which:

Fig. l is a diagrammatic side elevation of a block printing machine equipped to :xo produce the mottled design in accordance with the principles of my invention;

Fig. 2 1s an inverted plan View of certain portions of the apparatus shown in F ig. l; and

:z5 Fig. 3 is a face View of a portion of the iloor covering showing the mottled design produced by the apparatus illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2.

The block printing machine is of the type lo commonly employed in the production of iloor coverings, having a table or platen 1 over which a web ot base material is drawn in intermittent steps by suitable me'ans, usually a pair of flexible steel bands having vertically projecting pins which pierce the base material immediately adjacent its opposite longitudinal edges. By this means the base material is positively and successively registered with each of a series of vertically reciprocable printing blocks 2, 3, 4 and 5.

Adjacent each ot' the printing blocks is a color pan 6, 7, 8 and 9 respectively, which arev equipped with color rolls 10. Each of the color pans is adapted to be reciprocated under its respective printing block While the latter is maintained in its elevated position, and While the base material is being moved in one of its intermittent steps thereunder, the color roll l() of each pan engaging the under side, or printing face, ot the printing block with which it cooperates.

In producing the mottled design according to the principles of my invention I form on'the underside, or printing face, of the first printing block 2, a series of short irregularly formed i 1ave-like veins or iins 11 which are haphazardly arranged and spaced thereon but which extend in a general direction longitudinally of the machine. and the web F ol hase material.

On the next printing block 3 I produce a series of rectilinear fins or veins 12 which also extend in a general direction longitudinally of the machine and the Web of base material. These veins or fins l2 may be regularly or irregularly spaced across the machine as desired, depending upon the result to be attained.

Adjacent the printing block 3 I rotatably mount, in hearings fixed to the side frames of the 1nachine,a roll ]3 which is adapted to engage the paint carrying face of the wel) of base material ai.

Adjacent the roll y13 I non-rotatably mount, on the frame of the machine, a second roll 14. On the upper side of this roll I secure one. transversely extending edge of what I term a drag cloth 15. rIhis drag cloth7 in the present instance is composed of a sott woolen blanket, but may be formed of other suitable material Without departing from the essential features of the invention. The' drag cloth 15 extends around the forward side of the roll 14, thence under the said roll and trails along, over the painted or printed surface of the Web m, behind the said roll, substantially as shown, the said web being adapted to move in the direction of the arrow a, Fig. 1. l

According to the process for forming the mottled design in accordance with the principles of my invention, I place in t-h`e first color pan 6 an enamel paint of a desired color and shade. In the second color pan 7 I place a second enamel paint preferably of the same color but of a lighter shade than the paintcarried by the pan As the block printing machine is operated, in the usual'manner, the color rolls 10, 10 of the respective pans 6 and 7.deposit a supply of color on the fins 11 and 12 of .the respective printing blocks 2 and 3, after which the printing blocks are lowered, by the action of their operating cams not shown), until the said fins 11 and l2 engage the upper surface of the Web thereby depositing the supply of paint carried by the lower edges of the fins on the said surface of the web. The blocks are then raised and the color pans reciprocated thereunder to deposit a fresh supply of paint to the'fsaid fins. At the same time the web :v is moved a distance substantially equal to the smallest dimension of the printing blocks.

Considering the section y of the Web m lying immediately b'elow the printing block 2, as shown in Fig. 1, the first operation of the printing block 2- causes the irregular veins or fins 11 thereof to deposit irregularly spaced gobs of paint on the Web m. The Web :c is then moved to a position intermediate the printing blocks 2 and 3, after which the next operation of the printing block 2 deposits a similar series of gobs of paint on the webv :r: immediately adjacent the said transverse strip y and in registry therewith.

On the next operation the strip y moves under and is registered' with the printing block 3 and upon the next descending operation of this block the regular rectilinear fins 12 thereof will deposit'the paint carried thereby in corresponding straight longitudinally extending lines on the web, in superimposed relation to the irregular gobs of paint deposited by the fins 11 of the block 2.

The strip y then passes under the rotatable roll 13 which operates to initially intersperse the deposited colors, thereby obliterating the sharp defining lines between the various paint deposits.

The strip y then passes under the drag cloth 15 which produces the 1final mottled state of the design and totally oblterates any transversely extending lines of demarkation between the successively deposited and registered sections y of the face of the web which may have been produced by the printi ing blocks 2 and3 as they successively de- 70 -cloth 15, such as the blocks 4 and 5, but the invention which it is desired to cover in this application the production of the mottled base design itself, regardless of any other design which may be superimposed S5 thereon.

Obviously While' I have shown and described the invention as being effected ony a block printing machine, the operations may be carried out ony a machine in which 9o the platen or table 1 is; in the form of a cylinder around which the web mmay be carried, with the printing blocks, interspersing roll, and drag cloth placed at intervals around the periphery of the platen cylinder.

The drag cloth produces various indistinct lines of various Widths and shades which blend into each other in the finished product, and this general blended line effect obtains in a substantially uniform manner throughout the length of the continuous strip of fioor covering thus produced and lends itself to effecting a pleasant matching of the adjacent edges of strips which may be cut at angles, as in mitred corners when the floor covering is employed as a rug border in rooms, etc.

If desired the roll 13 may be eliminated, I: whereupon the drag cloth 15 Will effect the interspersing and blending of the colors in 11o a single operation, however, I prefer to effeet the initial interspersing of the colors by the interspersing roll 13.

I claim:l

1. A rocess of forming a mottled design on the ace of floor coverings and the like, comprising the placing of a series of paint deposits on the surface of a suitable base web in irregular Wave-like lines extending in a general direction longitudinally of the Web, placing a second series of paint deposits on the said web in superimposed relation to the first said series of deposits and in straight lines extending in a. direction longitudinal of said web, and thereafter passing said web under and in contact with a drag cloth Which effects an interspersing and. blending of said superimposed paint deposits over the surface of the Web.

2. A process of forming a mottled `design 13 on the face of floor coverings and the like, comprising the placing of a series of paint deposits on the surface of a suitable base web in irregular Weve-like lines extending in a ygeneral direction longitudinally of the web,

placing a second series of paint deposits on the said web in superimposed relation to the first said series otl deposits and in straight lines extending in :L direction longitudinal ot' said web, passing the web into Contact Web.

NEIL L. CAMPBELL. 

